JP2000222851A - Magnetic disk device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent media as much as possible by controlling a first position of head from being damaged by sliding with the head contact when loading the head so that it comes out of a data zone defined on the media. SOLUTION: When heads 4 and 5 are to be loaded, the head 4 is brought into contact with a disk D while the head 5 is in contact with the disk D. In this case, the entire sliding surface with the disk D where gaps 4a and 4b of the head 4 are provided is brought into contact at a position deviating from a data zone 6a. Also, a member 8 to be supported is provided at the side of the head 4, and a support 9 for supporting the member 8 to be supported is also provided, thus supporting the head 4 before the head is brought into contact with the disk D, and gradually causing the head 4 to approach the disk D for contacting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic disk drive used for reading and writing media on a magnetic disk, and more particularly, to a magnetic disk drive having a head control mechanism for contacting a head during high-speed rotation of the medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, devices capable of recording and reproducing data on both high-capacity and low-capacity (backward compatible) media have been developed as magnetic disk devices. In such an apparatus, a head is provided with a gap for high capacity and a gap for low capacity (for backward compatibility), and each head is used by being appropriately switched.

FIG. 6 shows a disk D and heads 4 and 5 in a conventional magnetic disk drive 20. In the medium of the magnetic disk device 20, the disk D is housed in a hard case (not shown), and when the medium is inserted into the device, a shutter provided in the hard case is opened and the disk appears, and the head appears. It enters through the shutter, comes into contact with the surface of the disk D, and can record and reproduce data.

[0004] The conventional magnetic disk drive 20 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, heads 4 and 5 are provided to face both sides of the disk D, and the heads 4 and 5 are movable in the radial direction of the disk D. Side 0 side (Disk D
The head 4 on the side where the position facing the disk D is determined) has a gap 4 for backward compatibility on the inner side of the disk D.
b, a gap 4a for high capacity is formed on the outer side,
Side 1 side (the side that moves toward and away from disk D)
The head 5 has a gap 5b for backward compatibility on the outer side and a gap 5a for high capacity on the inner side.

When the medium is inserted to a predetermined position, the heads 4 and 5 first come into contact with the lower surface of the disk D, and then the disk D starts rotating, and the head 4 side comes into contact with the upper surface of the disk D. Contact. In this case, it is identified whether the inserted medium is a medium for high capacity or a medium for backward compatibility. If the inserted medium is a medium for high capacity, the disc D rotates at a high speed and the medium for backward compatibility is identified. If it is a medium, the disk D rotates at a low speed.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional magnetic disk drive has the following problems. That is, when the medium is inserted and reaches a predetermined position, first, the head 5 contacts the lower surface of the disk D, the disk D rotates thereafter, and the head 4 directly contacts the data zone 6a of the disk D. In this case, when the inserted medium is for backward compatibility, the disk D rotates at a low speed when the head 4 comes into contact, and when the inserted medium is for high capacity, the disk D is Spin at high speed.

When a medium for backward compatibility is inserted as described above, the disk D rotates at a low speed.
Even when the heads 4 and 5 are brought into direct contact with the data zones 6a and 6b, the risk of damaging the disk D is low. However, when the inserted medium is for high capacity, the disk D rotates at a high speed. Therefore, when the head 4 is loaded on the disk D in this state, the contact location is directly in the data zone 6a. Therefore, the data zone 6a may be damaged. As a result, data recording and reproduction cannot be performed, or recorded data is damaged.

It is possible to employ means for rotating the disk D after the heads 4 and 5 have come into contact with the disk D. However, if the heads 4 and 5 are rotated after being brought into contact with the disk D, the durability of the disk D is reduced, and There is a problem that the heads 4 and 5 are attracted to the disk D and damage the disk D.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and when loading a head,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic disk drive capable of minimizing damage to a medium.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a medium having a data zone on both sides, a data zone on each side being shifted, and a head gap opposed to both sides of the medium and having respective head gaps offset. And a head that is
The head is a magnetic disk device including a first head whose position facing the medium is determined, and a second head that is operated in a direction to approach and separate from the medium, wherein the first head slides. A head control mechanism is provided for bringing the sliding surface of the second head into contact with a position outside the data zone while the moving surface is in contact with the data zone.

In the above means, for example, when controlling the head on the inner side of the medium, when the medium is inserted into the magnetic disk device and reaches a predetermined position,
First, the sliding surface of the first head, that is, the data zone formed in the data zone formed on both sides of the disk and shifted to the inner side contacts the disk. The sliding surface contacts the disk. At this time, the sliding surface of the second head contacts at a position outside the data zone. Therefore, when the second head contacts the disk, it is possible to prevent the disk from being damaged by the sliding surface as much as possible. In particular, when the medium is a high-capacity type, data is recorded and reproduced by rotating at a higher speed than that of a medium for backward compatibility, so that the risk of damaging the disk increases. Even if a capacity type medium is used, damage to the medium is prevented as much as possible.

Further, the head can form a gap corresponding to reading / writing of a low capacity medium and a high capacity medium.

For example, in this case, the heads are provided in parallel with each other with the gap between the two heads being offset and in the radial direction of the medium. At this time, if the gap of the first head is a lower compatibility gap on the outer side of the head and a high capacity gap on the inner side, the gap of the second head is a high capacity gap on the outer side of the head and a lower capacity gap on the inner side. It is formed so as to be a gap.

Further, the head control mechanism includes an arm for supporting and urging the second head in the direction of the medium.
It is preferable that the second head has a support for supporting the arm at a position away from the medium, and the arm and the head are formed so that the head comes off the support and contacts the medium when the head moves.

For example, when the medium is inserted into the apparatus by the above means, the second head is supported by the arm supported by the head and immediately before the head comes into contact with the medium by the arm urged in the medium direction. Supported by Further, the head is gradually moved in the medium direction by the movement of the arm, and the head, that is, the sliding surface of the head comes into contact with the surface of the disk. As a result, it is alleviated that the head comes into contact with the medium suddenly with a larger force, and damage to the medium is suppressed as much as possible.

In this case, the shape of the support can be appropriately changed depending on the shape of the arm in contact with the support. For example, a pin-shaped supported portion is provided at the tip of the arm in the width direction of the arm. In addition, a member for supporting the supported portion may be provided on the support side. Or,
A small piece-shaped supported portion may be integrally provided at the tip on the arm side, and may be supported by the support.

Further, the upper surface of the support is formed by a downwardly inclined surface on the rear side in the forward direction of the arm, and the inclined surface is formed by a slope that is gentler on the upstream side than on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the medium. It is preferable that the head is formed so as to move on the medium in an upwardly inclined posture on the upstream side when the head is retracted.

By the above means, it is possible to prevent the head from tilting when the head comes into contact with the medium and from damaging the medium due to the contact between the head on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the medium and the head.

For example, when the above-described pin-shaped supported portion is provided, the angle of the inclined surface of the support may be formed so that the upstream side in the rotational direction of the medium is gentler than the downstream side. it can. Alternatively, when a small-piece-shaped supported portion is provided at the tip on the arm side, the supported portion can be formed so as to be shifted from the center in the front-rear direction of the head to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the medium.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A magnetic disk drive according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a magnetic disk drive, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an initial state in which a head is in contact with a disk, FIGS. 3 and 4 are explanatory views for explaining the operation of the head, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the shapes of a supported portion and a support.

As shown in FIG. 1, the magnetic disk drive 1 of the present invention is formed by using a rectangular box-shaped housing, and has an insertion slot 2 for inserting a disk (media) on the front surface thereof and a disk for removing the disk. An eject button 3 to be used is formed.

This magnetic disk device 1 can use a medium for high capacity and a medium for backward compatibility, both of which are housed in the same hard case, and can record and reproduce data. . The media contained in these hard cases are thin flexible disks.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heads of the magnetic disk drive 1 are provided with heads 4 on the side 1 side (the second side on the side that is moved toward and away from the disk D) on both sides of the flexible disk D, respectively. Head 5) and the head 5 on the side 0 (the first head on the side where the position facing the disk D is determined) are arranged to face each other.
5 is supported movably in the radial direction of the disk D. Also, as shown in the drawing, the data zone in which data can be recorded and reproduced on both surfaces of the disk D is formed differently, and the data zone 6a on the head 4 side is more outward than the data zone 6b on the head 5 side. It is provided offset.

In this case, the medium is provided with a shutter (not shown) in a hard case for accommodating the disk D, and data zones 6a and 6b are formed under the restriction of the position of the opening of the shutter. ing.

The head 4 on the side 1 side has a gap 4
a, 4b are provided in parallel in the radial direction of the disk D,
A gap 4a for high capacity is provided on the outer side, and a gap 4b for backward compatibility is provided on the inner side. In the head 5 on the side 0 side, gaps 5a and 5b are provided in parallel in the radial direction of the disk D in the same manner as described above, and a gap 5b for lower compatibility on the outer side and a gap 5a for high capacity on the inner side. Has been established. As described above, the high capacity gaps 4a and 5a and the backward compatibility gaps 4b and 5b are provided offset (distance t) in the radial direction of the disk D, respectively.

The heads 4 and 5 are formed such that the surfaces that come into contact with the disk D protrude, and gaps 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b are formed in the protruding portions.
4b, 5a, 5b and their peripheral portions serve as sliding surfaces to slide on the disk D so that data can be recorded and reproduced.

In the magnetic disk device 1 formed as described above, when the disk D is inserted and inserted to a predetermined position, first, the sliding surface including the gaps 5a and 5b of the head 5 comes into contact with the disk D. . In this case, the disk D comes into contact with the disk D by a very low pressing force of about its own weight,
Thereafter, the disk D starts rotating. Subsequently, the sliding surface of the head 4 including the gaps 4a and 4b comes into contact with the disk D. In this case, the disk D is pressed and contacted by the urging force constantly acting on the head 4.

The head 5 cannot move the entire sliding surface of the head 5 to the inner side of the data zone 6b from the data zone 6b due to the position and size of the shutter. Contact directly at the overlapping position. Next, the head 4 contacts (falls) onto the disk D. At this time, the gaps 4a,
4b descends to a position other than the data zone 6a and contacts the disk D.

In this case, the sliding surface including the gap 5b for backward compatibility on the head 5 side overlaps and contacts the data zone 6b. However, since the sliding surface contacts the disk D by a very low pressing force, the disk D is damaged. The probability of doing is low.

Further, the operation of the heads 4 and 5 of the magnetic disk drive 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a state where the disk D is inserted and the head 5 contacts the disk D. Disk D
Before the head is inserted, the heads 4 are respectively in a standby state upward to a position where the disk D can be inserted. When the disk D is inserted and reaches a predetermined position, the shutter provided in the hard case is opened, and openings 10 and 11 are formed in the upper and lower surfaces of a part of the medium. Subsequently, the hard case is lowered until the lower surface of the disk D is at the height of the head 5, passes through the opening 11, and moves to the carriage 12.
The head 5 provided above enters and the sliding surface 5 of the head 5
c and 5d contact the disk D. In this case, the head 5 is in contact with the disk D by a very low pressing force that is about the same as the weight of the disk D. Then, after the disk D is rotated by driving the motor 13, the head 4 is loaded.

If the disk D is a high capacity disk, the host computer or the drive detects that the disk has been inserted, and rotates the motor 13 at high speed to rotate the disk at high speed. Also disk D
If the disk is a disk compatible with backward compatibility (low capacity), motor 1
3 is rotated at a low speed to rotate the disk at a low speed. In this case, the head 5 makes direct contact at a position where the gap 5b (or the gaps 5a and 5b) overlaps the data zone 6b of the disk D.

The head 4 is not loaded horizontally with respect to the disk D, but is loaded while taking an inclined posture. That is, the head 4 is attached to the tip of the arm 7 as shown in FIG. The arm 7 is made of a plate-shaped suspension member as shown in FIG. 5, and by using a leaf spring or the like at the base end of the arm 7, an urging force such that the head 4 is always urged in the direction of the disk D. Is working. Supporting pieces 7a, 7a having circular through holes formed at both ends of the distal end portion of the arm 7, projecting through the respective through holes of the supporting pieces 7a, 7a. 8 are provided. The supported member 8
Are projecting outward from the support pieces 7a, 7a.

In the disk device 1, a support 9 for supporting the supported member 8 is provided in front of the arm 7. As shown in FIG. 5, the support 9 has a bifurcated shape, and has horizontal legs 9a and 9b formed on the upper surface, and the tip corners of the legs 9a and 9b are directed downward. It is formed in a shape having inclined portions 9c and 9d. Further, the inclined portions 9c and 9d are provided on the protruding portions 8 of the supported member 8.
A predetermined interval is provided between the legs 9a and 9b so that the legs 9a and 8b can be supported and the tip of the arm 7 can pass through.

After the rotation of the disk D is started, the head 4 comes into contact with the disk D. At this time, the supported member 8
The head 4 is supported at a position slightly away from the disk D before the head 4 contacts the disk D. The supported member 8 provided on the arm 7 is The supported members 8 are supported by the upper surfaces of the legs 9a and 9b, and are further retracted by the arm 7.
The head 4 gradually reduces the distance from the disk D while the (projections 8a, 8b) slide on the slopes of the slopes 9c, 9d. Further, when the arm 7 retreats and the inclined portions 9c and 9d disappear, the sliding surfaces 4c and 4d of the head 4 come into contact with the disk D together with the urging force acting on the arm 7.

In this case, the head 5 moves horizontally while facing the head 4 with the movement of the head 4 (retreat of the arm 7), and when the head 4 comes into contact with the disk D, the head 4 and the head 5 It touches at the opposing position.

In this case, the initial contact position of the head 4 is such that the sliding surfaces 4c and 4d of the head 4 come into contact with each other at a position separated from the data zone 6a of the disk D as shown in FIG. I have. Therefore, the disk D is not damaged in the data zone 6a.

Further, in the inclined portions 9c and 9d, the inclined portions 9d are formed so that the slopes are gentler than the inclined portions 9c. That is, the slope of the inclined portion 9d formed on the upstream side in the rotation direction W of the disk D is formed to be gentler than the slope of the inclined portion 9c, and the protruding portions 8a and 8b of the supported member 8 correspond to the inclined portions 9c and 9d, respectively. When supported, the height from the disk D is set higher on the inclined portion 9d side than on the inclined portion 9c side. As a result, before the head 4 comes into contact with the disk D, the sliding surfaces 4c and 4d of the head 4 come into contact with the disk D in an upwardly inclined position on the upstream side in the rotation direction W of the disk D. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the disc D from being damaged at the sliding portions 4c and 4d of the head 4, particularly at the corners on the upstream side of the sliding portions 4c and 4d.

The magnetic disk drive according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be performed on the outer side of the disk D. In the control of the head in this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained by contacting the head 5 at a position deviating from the data zone 6b after fixing the head 4 first by contacting the head 4 side contrary to the above embodiment. Obtainable.

[0039]

According to the magnetic disk drive of the present invention, when the head is loaded, the position where the head is first brought into contact is controlled so as to be out of the data zone formed on the medium. Damage caused by the sliding surface is suppressed as much as possible. In particular, it is useful when used for a high-capacity medium that records and reproduces data by rotating the medium at high speed.

Further, the head is prevented from being damaged at the corners of the head by the head being brought into contact with the medium in an upwardly inclined position on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the medium.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the external appearance of a magnetic disk drive.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a head and a disk when the head comes into contact with the disk;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the head,

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the head.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining an example of the shapes of a supported portion and a support, and the positional relationship between these and a disk;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a conventional magnetic disk device;

[Explanation of symbols]

 D disk 4 2nd head 5 1st head, 4a, 5a High capacity head 4b, 5b Backward compatible head 4c, 4d, 5c, 5d Sliding surface 6a, 6b Data zone 7 Arm 8 Supported member 9 Support Body 9c, 9d Inclined part

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hirozo Onodera 1-7 Yukitani Otsuka-cho, Ota-ku, Tokyo Alps Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5D006 DA00 DA02 DA09 FA02 5D076 AA01 BB03 CC01 DD02 DD08 DD20 FF06 FF10 FF18 GG04 GG12

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A medium having a data zone on both sides and a data zone on each side being shifted, and a head opposed to both sides of the medium and provided with a head gap offset from each other, The head is a magnetic disk device including a first head whose position facing a medium is determined, and a second head that is operated in a direction of coming and coming from the medium. A magnetic disk drive comprising a head control mechanism for bringing the sliding surface of the second head into contact with a position outside the data zone while the sliding surface is in contact with the data zone. 2. The magnetic disk drive according to claim 1, wherein the head is provided with a gap corresponding to reading / writing of a low capacity medium and a high capacity medium. 3. The head control mechanism includes an arm that supports the second head and biases the medium toward a medium, and a support that supports the arm at a position where the second head is separated from the medium. 3. The magnetic disk drive according to claim 1, wherein when the arm and the head move, the head comes off the support and contacts the medium. 4. The upper surface of the support is formed by a downwardly inclined surface on the rear side in the advancing direction of the arm, and the inclined surface is formed by a gentler inclined surface on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the medium than on the downstream side, 4. The magnetic disk drive according to claim 1, wherein when the arm retreats, the head moves on the medium in an upwardly inclined position on the upstream side.